Voicemail
by sue-sylvester-shuffle
Summary: (Set in PMD:EOS) Totodile is having trouble moving on after the 'death' of his beloved partner, Pikachu, at Temporal Tower. He finds solace in calling her cell phone and hearing her voice on the answering machine, although certain members of Wigglytuff's Guild are a bit concerned about him. (HERO/PARTNER.)


**AN:** So, I've been replaying Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky again recently. SUCH a great game, definitely in my top 5. Anyway, this is n't my current team, but my favourite team from 2012, "Team Dark Sky". Found this old, half-finished story and decided to touch it up. Enjoy!

xXx

 _Delete contact PIKACHU from this phone?_

Totodile toyed with the option, pressing _cancel_ and then doing it over again. _Delete contact PIKACHU from this phone?_ No. _Delete contact PIKACHU from this phone?_ No.

It had been almost a month since his lonely return from Temporal Tower, without his partner Pikachu by his side. Twenty-three days had passed; he had counted each one, hoping that she would return. No luck. Although everyone at the guild still used kid gloves while they talked to him, Chatot and Wigglytuff had held a sort of intervention for him, where they went over what had happened to his partner, which he already knew. They went over how the future had been compromised with her likely in it, which he already knew. They told him that she wasn't coming home, which deep down, he already knew. Now he was moving on… or he was trying to. It wasn't working. He couldn't even delete her contact from his phone, even though she was gone and she would never call him again.

He decided to give her a call, just in case. His phone rang once… twice… three times… Totodile was holding his breath. Four times… five times...

"Hi there!"

It was her voice. "Pikachu!" Totodile exclaimed, his heart leaping up into his throat. It was her. Her voice. She was talking to him.

However, as Pikachu's voice continued to blare from his phone, he realized that it was not actually her speaking. "This is Pikachu of Team Dark Sky! You've called me, but I'm not here to take the call, I have no idea where I would be though. Probably getting lectured by Chatot or something. Or maybe I'm out exploring with my sissy of a partner."

His own voice emanated from the phone. "Hey, shut up, Pikachu!"

"Yep, that's him alright." Pikachu laughed, and Totodile's chest ached. "Just kidding, he's the best. Anyway, leave a message at the beep, I'd love to hear from you!" With a loud beep, the message ended. Totodile felt as if he were sinking into the floor.

"Hello, Pikachu." he said breathlessly. "Er, this is Totodile… if you get this message, please, _please_ call back. Um, that's all." He hung up. Just then, Chatot ran into the room.

"Totodile, are you all right?" he squawked. "I heard a shout."

"Yes, I'm okay." Totodile faked a smile. "Sorry, Chatot."

"That's fine. Keep it down, now." He headed back out.

Totodile waited until Chatot had gone, and then he looked down at his phone. Whether Pikachu was still alive anywhere or not, her voice was still alive in his hands. That was all he needed.

xXx

He called again the next day. After listening intently to her answering machine message, he began to speak. "Hey, Pikachu… um, this is Totodile again… calling your cell. Hi there. So, I was just eating a Yellow Gummi, and I thought of you… I know those are your favourites. Or… they _were_ your favourites. Um… if you get this, please call back. I really miss you."

There were a few seconds of blue silence in which his heart broke a little more, and then a voice from behind him shook him out of his thoughts. "Totodile, who are you talking to?"

Totodile turned around rather quickly to see Sunflora standing in his doorway. "Oh, hi, Sunflora." he said. "I was just talking to myself."

The Grass-type walked over and took the phone from him. She looked down at it, and surprise passed over her face. "Totodile… were you… were you trying to call Pikachu?"

"No." he lied fiercely. "I mean… maybe. Yes, I was."

Sunflora stared at the screen for a few more seconds before handing it back to him. "And, um… she isn't responding, is she?"

"No. Not yet."

"You think she will?"

"She might. You never know."

Sunflora nodded. "You're right. Way to stay positive, Totodile, oh my gosh!"

"Thanks, Sunflora."

She smiled at him, but it looked more sympathetic than friendly. "I have to go now, but I'll see you soon. Good luck, um, finding Pikachu." She dashed off.

It didn't surprise Totodile that later that day, he was visited by a solemn-looking Wigglytuff and Chatot. "Sunflora sent you, didn't she?" the Water-type asked flatly.

"Well… yes." Chatot said, as he and Wigglytuff shared a look.

"Totodile, I don't think Pikachu is going to pick up." Wigglytuff told him gently.

"She might. It's worth a try."

"But she is in the future. A future so many years from now that we are all probably deceased in it. Your call cannot reach her if you are not alive anymore." Chatot added. "Or… if _she_ is not alive anymore."

"She _is._ " Totodile told them firmly. "I know she is."

"It's completely plausible that she died while disappearing from Temporal Tower, Totodile." said Wigglytuff. "We don't like to think about it, but… it's possible."

Tears filled Totodile's eyes. He remembered the sad smile his partner had given him as she had started to disappear outside the crumbling remains of Temporal Tower. She had known her destiny, and embraced it even knowing what would happen to her afterward.

 _Buck up,_ she had told him, her hand cupping his cheek, warm despite the fact that she was vanishing slowly. The light all around her, stealing her body and soul from him, had been dull compared to her eyes. They had sparkled like stars in the night sky. She hadn't cried. _Come on, Totodile,_ she had said. _Life goes on, even without me here. You know that._

"I want to be alone." he said. "I think you two should go now."

xXx

He didn't call her the next day, but two days after that, Totodile had the courage to dial her number once more. "Hello, Pikachu. It's Totodile, but I guess you know that." The Water-type laughed softly. "So… I don't know if you're getting these calls or not… Chatot says you're not, and I guess he's right, because this is my third message, and I still haven't heard from you. I… I guess I do know deep down that you're gone, so I don't know why I keep calling… I guess it's so I can hear your answering machine message. I guess I just… I just want to hear your voice again. I'm in it too, in the background… you can hear me telling you to be quiet. Just like old times. But I guess those times are over now, huh?" He sighed. "So… I just called… to say goodbye. I hope if you _are_ alive, you're happy. I'm really going to miss you, Pikachu. You were… you _are…_ my best friend. You brought out an explorer in me that I had never seen before. I'll never forget you, and the adventures we had. And, um, since you're never going to hear this anyway… I want to tell you something I never had the guts to say before… I love you." Totodile felt his face growing red, and lowered his voice just in case anyone was listening. "I love your bravery, and your laugh, and your eyes. I love how you would get all excited before going into a dungeon, and I loved how you never stopped believing in me, even though I never, ever believed in myself. If I'd had your courage, I would have told you that. But, um, I never did. I'm sorry. And… I guess this really is goodbye, huh? I don't want to talk anymore."

With tears in his eyes, Totodile hung up. Then, he stared at her contact and toyed with his options again.

 _Delete contact PIKACHU from this phone?_

His fingers wavered.

 _Yes._

 _Contact PIKACHU deleted._

xXx

Two months later, Totodile was sitting on the beach. He always liked watching the sun set in the sky, especially there, when the sun's last dying rays would paint the water all kinds of breathtaking colours. As a Water-type Pokémon, Totodile loved to swim, and swimming while the sun was dancing on the water was one of his favourite things to do. However, he just didn't feel like swimming then. He sat alone on the beach, on the spot where he had been sitting when he had first met Pikachu. When Team Skull had taken his Relic Fragment, she had been on her feet immediately, shouting angry things he had never heard before and storming into the nearby dungeon where they had escaped. That's just who she was. She stood up for the Pokémon who couldn't stand up for themselves, and helped them to believe in themselves too. She could go from tender to fiery in a matter of seconds. She was the strangest Pokémon that Totodile had ever met- and now she was gone, taking all her quirks and inconsistencies with her.

Just then, his phone started to ring. Numbly, Totodile picked it up. It was an unknown caller. With a sigh, he raised the phone to his ear.

"Hello? This is Totodile."

"Totodile? Oh my gosh, it's actually you. Hey! It's Pikachu!"

His emotions rose up so fast that for a moment, the Water-type felt sick, and then they crashed back down. "Whoever you are, this isn't funny."

"Totodile, are you okay? You sound different."

"Whoever you are, you don't know how I sound, so just shut up!" he shouted. Whoever was calling him was doing quite a convincing job, which made it even worse. They had truly mastered Pikachu's voice, with its fierceness and the way she extended her _a_ 's sometimes.

"What's gotten into you?" Whoever was calling sounded as angry as he was now. Well, they had a temper like Pikachu's. "It's me, Pikachu, I swear it is."

"Well, as it seems you don't know, my partner Pikachu, was lost at-"

"At Temporal Tower, yeah. I know, 'cause that was _me._ "

"My partner _died_ at Temporal Tower." snapped Totodile.

"No, I didn't! Turn around, you idiot."

Totodile lowered the phone. Suspiciously, he turned around. Standing there, grinning, yellow hair blowing around her face in the wind, was Pikachu. The roller coaster of his emotions swelled up again, and Totodile's mouth fell open. Pikachu waved, tilting her head to one side. "Hey there. Bet you thought you'd never see me again, huh?"

"You're _alive._ " he gasped. "But… what? How…"

"Dialga sent me back." she said.

"Why _now?_ It's been three months."

"Has it?" Pikachu looked mildly fazed. "No, he sent me back almost immediately. I guess altering the past takes a while, huh?"

"I-I guess so." he responded, bewildered, as if the time it took to alter the past was as casual as the weather.

All of a sudden, Pikachu laughed. It was a loud, joyful sound that made Totodile's heart flutter. "I'm so happy to see you, Totodile. I missed you. I'm sorry I had to leave."

"I still can't believe you're back."

"Yeah, well. I hope you didn't miss me _too_ much."

Totodile laughed as well. "You have no idea."

A grin spread across Pikachu's face. "Oh, Totodile. You can't live without me. That's adorable." She opened her arms, and Totodile scrambled to his feet. He went over and hugged her tightly, squeezing her close to him so that he would never lose her again.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." she murmured.

They stood like that for a while, until Pikachu said, "Okay, it's been, like, a minute now. Let go of me."

"Sorry." he laughed, stepping back. She was still beaming.

"Let's go back to the guild now. I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces!" exclaimed Pikachu.

"Me too." Totodile replied. "I told Chatot you'd come back. I _told_ him!"

"I can just picture his face now. Ha!"

Totodile reached out and took her hand. "Come on, I can't wait anymore."

"Okay." She gave his hand a squeeze as they walked across the sunlit beach. To Totodile, it felt just like she had never been gone, as if this was just another of their walks on the beach.

"Hey, Pikachu?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Promise me you'll never listen to the voicemail on your phone."

She laughed, smirking. "What, were you crying?"

Totodile shrugged. "You say funny things when you think you'll never see someone again."

She nodded, still smiling, but now it was a sincere one. "I understand."

"Thank you."

"But you don't have to worry about never seeing me again. I'm here for good, whether you like it or not."

"Oh, great." he joked. But inside, the part of him that had been scraped empty by her disappearance was being filled again. A soft, relaxed sigh escaped his lips. The sand under his bare toes felt warmer with her beside him again.

end


End file.
